Grizzly King

Chapter 12

Thor came to what the Indians called Pimtao.Thor's intelligence allows him to quickly add two things to two other things. Although he may not get the result that two plus two equals four, his mental calculation accuracy is high enough to convince him that North Going straight is the way they should go.

Otto and Langdon reached the highest point of the trail, and heard the barking of hounds in the distance again.At the same time, Muska is almost desperate-following Thor seems to be an endless game of running and chasing.

Thor and Mascar left the trail.An hour later, they reached a high point in the valley, where the waters of the river diverge: one stream flows southward, and finally empties into the basin of Lake Takla; .The stream soon reached the lower ground.Muska saw the swamp for the first time, and it sometimes crossed the meadows, where the grass grew so tall and thick that Muska could not see Thor, but could only hear the sound of Thor struggling forward. .

The stream became wider and deeper.In some places Thor and Mascar walked along the edge of dark, still pools of water.Those puddles must be unfathomable, Muska thought.It was at the puddles, though, that Muska got a brief chance to rest, because Thor stopped now and then, poking his head through the puddles, sniffing around.It's looking for something, but can't seem to find it.Muska felt almost unbearable as Thor walked again.

When they came to a lake, Otto and Langdon were now observing the valley through binoculars.They were to the north, seven miles from Thor and Muskar.To Masca, the lake looked dark and indifferent, with nothing to see but sunken sunken puddles.The forest stretched down to the lake, and in some places it was almost pitch black.The strange bird made a "clack" sound in the dense reeds.There was a strong, strange smell in the air, a scent, which made the cub lick his belly.It's hungry.

Thor stood there for about a minute or two, sniffing the smell that filled the air.It's the smell of fish.

The grizzly bear walked slowly along the lake.After a while, it came to the mouth of a small stream.The mouth of the brook was not more than twenty feet wide, but the water was deep, dark, and as calm as the lake.Thor walked a hundred yards up the creek to a point.Here many trees fell across the creek and blocked the water.A green scum covered the surface of the water near the clog.Thor knew there was something beneath the scum, so he tiptoed up the trunk.

Thor stopped in the middle of the brook.It used its right paw to gently scrape away the scum, and a puddle of clear lake water appeared in front of its eyes.

Muska was by the stream, looking at Thor with bright eyes.It knows that Thor is looking for something to eat, but how does he get the food out of the water?This made Muska curious and amused.

Thor sprawled on his stomach against the tree trunk, with his head and right paw just above the blockage.Now one of his bear paws was in the stream, a foot deep, and he held that position very calmly.Thor could see the bottom of the creek clearly at first glance, but for a moment all he could see was the bottom, a few branches, and the protruding tops of the branches.At last a long shadow, silvery in color, swam slowly beneath Thor.It turned out to be a fifteen-inch salmon.The fish was in deep water, and Thor didn't plunge into it excitedly.

Thor waited patiently, and soon his patience was rewarded.A beautiful sockeye trout swam to the surface, and Thor swung his palm, sending the spray flying a dozen feet into the air, so suddenly that little Muska screamed.Then there was a bang, and the salmon landed less than three feet away from the cub.Mascar rushed forward immediately, bit the salmon with his sharp teeth, and the salmon struggled.

Thor got up from the tree trunk and saw Muska devouring the salmon, so he scrambled back to his original position.Just after the musca had eaten its first real prey, a second spray flew into the air, and another salmon rolled through the air as it headed for the shore.This time, Thor followed quickly, because he was also hungry.

In the afternoon, they had a hearty meal by the stream under the shade of the forest.Five times in a row Thor knocked the fish out from under the scum.But after little Mascar enjoyed his first salmon, he couldn't eat any more.

After eating, Thor and Mascar lay down for a few hours in a nearby shady and secluded place.Muska didn't sleep well.It gradually understands that it has to bear some responsibilities in its current life.As a result, its ears began to adapt to different sounds.Whenever Thor moved or sighed, Muska sensed it.Since running long distances with the grizzly bear that day, Muska's heart has been restless. He is afraid that he will lose his big friend—a good hunter of prey.Thor is its protector, and it decides that it cannot let Thor disappear from its side for a moment, cannot fail to hear its voice, and cannot fail to see its figure.However, it never occurred to Thor to abandon his little companion.In fact, it grew more and more fond of Mascarpone.

Thor did not come to the lower reaches of the Babine Valley simply because he wanted to eat fish, or because he was afraid of his rivals.Over the past week, his unease had grown day by day, culminating in the last two or three days of fighting and fleeing.It had a strange, unfulfilled longing, so that while Masca dozed in the bushes, Thor's ears were always alert for a sound, and his nose sniffed the air now and then.It longs for a mate.

In the Indian language, the female bear is called Puskuvipesm, which means "moon that sheds hair".June is the day when this "moon" appears.At this moment, Thor was looking for Puscuvi Pesm from the mountains to the west.Thor was almost a creature of habit, and always made a detour of this road, and entered other valleys, and from afar to the valley of the Babine.On the way, it can always eat fish, and the more fish it eats, the stronger its smell will be.Thor didn't know that the scent of salmon would go a long way toward attracting mates.

In two hours the sun will be setting.Thor stood up and stretched.It pulled three more fish out of the water.Mascar ate one head and Thor ate the rest.Then, they started a long journey again.

Muska now entered a new world.There is no familiar sound here, and the murmur of grunt in the mountains and valleys has disappeared.No woodchucks, no grouse, no fat little gophers running around.The water of the lake is quiet, deep and dark; the forest is close to the lake, and the water depression hidden under the roots of the forest, the sun cannot reach it, and it looks pitch black.There were no rocks to climb, just damp, limp logs, thick fallen leaves, and scattered branches.The air was different, dead.Sometimes there was a soft and wonderful moss under their feet, and Thor sank into the moss, and the moss almost covered his armpits.There was something strange and dark about the forest, full of mysterious shadows and the pungent smell of rotting vegetation.

Here, Thor was not walking so fast.The silence, the gloom, and the dull smell seemed to remind Thor to be careful.It walked softly, stopping from time to time to look around and listen carefully; every time it came to a puddle under the roots of a tree, it would sniff; every new sound would make it stop, bow its head, and listen Be alert.

Several times Muska saw shadow-like things floating in the gloom, great gray owls that turned snow-white in winter.Once, when it was getting late, they encountered a lynx on the road.It has protruding eyeballs, quick movements, and a ferocious appearance.As soon as the fellow saw Thor, he scurried away like a ball.

Thor quietly walked into an open field.At this time, the sky was not completely dark.Muska found himself first by the stream and then by the big pond.There was a smell of new life and warmth in the air, not fish, but it seemed to come from the center of the pond, where there were three or four cone-shaped piles, which looked like huge piles of bushes, with There is a layer of dirt.

This is the end of the valley.Whenever he was here, Thor would visit the beaver colony.Occasionally, for supper or breakfast, it will also eat a fat and tender beaver.But this night, it is not hungry, it has to hurry.Still, it stood for a few minutes in the shade by the pond.

The beavers have started working at night.Muska quickly understood what the flashing streaks running fast on the water were doing.Each stripe terminates in a black, flat head; most of the "stripes" start working from the far side of the pond, and soon they build a long, low barrier in the direction of the East, a hundred yards long, jammed in the water.

Thor didn't understand this particular obstacle, but from his years of knowing beavers, he knew that these building beaver friends were building a new dam to widen their territory.As Thor and Mascar watched, there was a "plop" and two fat beavers pushed a four-foot log into the pool. One of the beavers managed to push the log towards the construction site, and the other A beaver returns to its place to do other things.After a while there was a "crash" in the woods across the pond, where a beaver had successfully felled a tree.Then, Thor walked towards the new dam.

Almost at the same time, there was a terrible "cracking" sound in the center of the pond, followed by a huge splash.An old beaver saw Thor and beat the water with his thick tail in warning.The slap sounded like a gunshot, piercing the silent sky.

In an instant, splashing from all directions, the beavers jumped into the water; a moment later, the water was crinkled and undulating, and twenty beavers, interrupting their work, dived hastily down to their roost, where they had arched under the bushes. Raised, covered with soil safety zone.Mascar watched the exciting scenes engrossed, and almost forgot to follow Thor on the road.

At the new dam, Muska caught up with the grizzly bear.For a while Thor inspected the new project, testing the strength of the new dam with his own weight.At last Thor and Muskar walked across the beaver-built dam to the higher ground on the opposite bank.Over there there is a trail several hundred yards long, a trail frequented by reindeer and other animals.Thor followed the path for half an hour, round the end of the lake, and to the mouth of the creek that ran to the north.

Muska wants Thor to stop all the time.The afternoon nap did little to ease the pain in his limp feet, or the pain in his tender toes.Going forward blindly, it has had enough, it can't stand it.If it can make its own way, I hope it doesn't advance a mile in a month.But if it's just walking, it's not so bad.Even to keep up with Thor's slow pace, Muska had to trot, like a four-year-old, short and fat, tugging at the fingers of a tall, fast-walking adult.Alas, mascarpone doesn't even have fingers to pull!The soles of his feet burned, his back felt dimpled, and his delicate nose was red and sore from too many bushes and sharp swamp grasses.Nevertheless, Muska persevered desperately until he reached the bottom of the creek, where the ground was either sand or gravel, which made his walking easier.

At this moment, the sky is full of stars, there are tens of millions of them, clear and bright.Apparently, Thor decided to walk the night.But when is the end?Muska couldn't figure it out.

If it weren't for the gods of thunder, rain, and lightning gathering together, Muska might not have a chance to rest.

The stars are still twinkling.Thor kept walking and walking, like a soulless savage.Muska limped on all fours and followed.About an hour later, there was a low "rumble" from the west, louder and louder, coming fast from the warm Pacific Ocean.Thor became restless and sniffed in the direction of the sound.In the sky, blue-gray stripes criss-crossed, slowly forming huge dark clouds, like a wide curtain, slowly approaching Thor and Muska.The stars disappeared, the wind howled, and then the rain came.

Thor found a large rock leaning like a lean-to.Before the downpour came, Thor and Muskar burrowed under the rocks.The rain lasted for a long time, and it was more like a flood than rain.In less than half an hour, the water in the creek rose and turned into a torrent.

Muska was frightened by the lightning and thunder.In the blinding lightning, it had just seen Thor, and in a blink of an eye, it was dark again everywhere; the top of the mountain seemed to collapse into the valley, and the earth trembled and shook.Muska curled up beside Thor, getting closer and closer, until at last he lay between Thor's arms, half hidden in the long fur on the grizzly's chest.Thor only took care not to get wet in the rain, and paid little attention to the noise and vibration of nature.Of course, if he wants to take a bath, he hopes it will be a sunny day with a warm rock around him to stretch out on.

The torrential rain came on fiercely, and in a few minutes it turned into weaker showers, which lasted for a long time.Muska likes this.It hid under the sheltered rock and snuggled up to Thor, feeling very comfortable.It fell asleep quickly.For a long time Thor was awake alone, and dozed now and then because he was too restless to sleep.

After midnight, the rain stopped, but the night was dark and the stream overflowed the barriers in the channel.They are still under the rock.Muska was still sleeping, soundly asleep.

It was dawn, and Thor's slight shaking woke up Muska.Muska followed Thor out into the open space.Although his feet were still aching and his body was still stiff, Mascar felt much better than last night.

Thor started walking along the creek again.There were many fords and brooks along the way, where young grass and roots grew, and long-stemmed lilies, Thor's favorite food.However, grizzly bears weigh thousands of pounds, and it would take hours, if not days, to feed on such grassy delicacies.Thor didn't want to waste time.Within a year, it has only a few days of love.During these days it is the most passionate lover, it completely changes the pattern of life.The energy of love ruled it, and it lived no longer merely to eat and fatten itself.Thor put aside his habit of eating to live for the sake of a short courtship.As for poor Mascar, his stomach is almost flattened by hunger. When will the next meal come?

Finally, shortly after noon, Thor reached an impassable puddle of water more than ten feet wide.Filled with salmon that was alive and kicking.These fish cannot swim to the lake above.After the flood season, they have to wait a long time before they have the opportunity to swim into the deep waters of the Babin and Skeena.Salmon take refuge in puddles, but soon they will become death traps.

The puddle was two feet deep at one end and no more than a few inches at the other.The Grizzly Bear considered carefully for a while, then boldly waded into the deepest depression.Mascar stood on the shore, watching the shiny salmon swim quickly into the shallow water.Thor walked forward slowly.In a moment it was standing in less than eight inches of water.The salmon panicked one by one, and tried to escape back to the deep water.

Thor's strong right arm waved again and again, setting off waves of water like showers.The first wave knocked Mascar over, but a two-pound salmon followed, which Mascar quickly pulled aside and ate immediately.Now the puddles became restless, and a blow of Thor's great hand shook the trout reeling.As soon as they swam to one side of the puddle, they turned around and rushed to the other side.The salmon swam like this until the grizzly bear threw more than a dozen fish ashore.

Muska was engrossed in eating the fish, and Thor was so engrossed in fishing that he didn't notice any visitors.They saw the visitor almost at the same time, stood up immediately, and stared at it for more than 30 seconds.Thor was in the pond, and Muska was holding the fish, they were too stunned to move—the visitor was also a grizzly bear.

It began to eat the salmon Thor threw up.It is so calm, as if it caught the fish by itself.In the world of bears, where could there be a worse insult or a more deadly challenge?Muska felt the same way, and he looked at Thor expectantly.There will be another fight soon, Muska licks the bones of his own chest, anticipating.

Thor slowly climbed up from the pond and stopped by the pond.The two grizzlies stared at each other, and the new grizzly stared at Thor as he crunched the fish.They didn't growl.Muska was not at all aware of Thor's hostility towards the visitor.Then Thor began to eat the fish, not three feet away from the visitor.Mascar was very surprised!

Humans may be the best of all God's creations, but that's not so much when it comes to respecting the elderly, and sometimes they are worse than grizzly bears, because Thor never eats with old bears, and does not follow old bears. The old bear fought, and did not drive the old bear away from the meat it hunted.

In these respects, it can be said that Tol did better than some people.The visitor was an old bear, and a sick one at that.Standing up, it was almost as tall as Thor, but it was very old, with a very thin neck and head, and half Thor's chest circumference.The Indians don't hurt the old bears.The other bears tolerated the older bears and, if they happened to come across them, made them eat the meat they had killed.And some hunters, they want to kill the old bear.

The old bear was starving.Its claws were gone, its fur was sparse, its skin was bald in several places, and it could barely chew with its hard, red gums.

If it survives until autumn, it goes to hibernation and spends its last days.It is also possible that death will come sooner.If this is the case, the old bear will know it himself, and he will crawl into some hidden cave or deep rock crevice until his last breath.As far as Otto and Langdon knew, no one had found the bones or carcass of a grizzly bear that had died of natural causes anywhere in the Rockies.

The tall Thor suffered from a gunshot wound, and the humans are now hunting him down.And Thor seems to know that this may be the last big meal of the old bear-it is too old to hunt, and it can't even dig up the tender grass roots of lilies, so Thor let the old bear take the fish. Eat up, there is not one left, and then it continues on its way.Muska followed closely behind.

(End of this chapter)